Research Call - International comparative study for Ghana's proposed National Sanitation Authority, and associated support to the Government of Ghana's decision-making around design of the NSA

This research and policy support project, commissioned under Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor’s
Urban Sanitation Research Initiative
, will deliver an international comparative study of institutional models for Ghana’s proposed National Sanitation Authority (NSA) (Component A), and associated work with the Ghanaian government to support decision-making around NSA design: Component B.

The term “sanitation authority” may mean different things, and we suggest that Component A should first analyse wider institutional frameworks in the selected focus countries, providing a basis for understanding what roles a sanitation authority can play within a given framework structure.

Component B will likely involve i) stakeholder consultation processes, ii) written analysis outlining possible roles and structures of the future Ghanaian NSA, iii) decision-maker workshops to support thinking about the future Ghanaian NSA, and iv) a final detailed recommendations report focused on the specific model identified as most appropriate.

A third component, Component C, will deliver a process evaluation of this policy support/change process from a policy studies perspective.

We anticipate that this contract will likely be delivered by a two-partner consortium: an academic team (possibly non-Ghanaian) responsible for Components A and C, and a policy translation team (likely Ghanaian) responsible for Component B. However, bidders may propose different team structures: we welcome bids led either by Ghanaian or non-Ghanaian organisations, and will make our decision on the basis of bid quality, not geography.

We note that this project requires very rapid start-up and very rapid delivery of Components A and B, in view of the strong possibility that the NSA will be constituted within the next 6 months.